Zootopia That Was 2: The Train Job
by niraD
Summary: The central planets formed the Alliance and forced the outer planets to submit to their rule. Back then, fools like me tried to fight it. Now, we just try to get by. I'm Nick Wilde, captain of Serenity, a Firefly-class transport. I've got a good crew. If you've got a job, then we can do it, whatever it is. (Crossover: Zootopia characters in a Firefly setting)
1. Your move

**Author's Note:**

This is a sequel to "Zootopia That Was", a crossover that places _Zootopia_ characters in a _Firefly_ universe. But where "Zootopia That Was" followed the plot of the _Firefly_ episode "Serenity" fairly closely, this story uses the _Firefly_ episode "The Train Job" more as inspiration, and deviates significantly from the original plot.

* * *

A few spears of light pierced gaps in the window shutters, stabbing through the darkness of the crowded room. Mammals of every kind sat hunched over at the bar, or in small groups around tables. Waitresses slipped deftly between the tables, delivering drinks (and occasionally food) to the customers. Some customers played games at their tables, but most just talked quietly, leaning close to each other to keep their conversations private.

Soft, gentle music drifted from the front corner as a trio of camels played. One camel sat on a large boxy drum while tapping complex rhythms. Another played a stringed instrument, some kind of long zither with a sound box that rested on his shoulder. The third played a small wooden flute. A fourth camel, dressed in a flowing gown decorated with shiny brass ornaments, danced around the room in time to the music. Like the musicians, she was largely ignored by the establishment's customers.

As the dancer circulated, she passed a group of mammals sitting in the back corner: a red fox, a tigress, and an enormous cape buffalo. A board game rested on the small table between them. The tigress sat quietly with her eyes closed. The fox looked to the side, his ear cocked. The cape buffalo stared at the fox and said, "Your move."

The fox remained immobile. M'bogo, the cape buffalo, spoke a little louder. "Captain Wilde, it's your move."

Nick Wilde, the fox, quickly glanced at the board, moved a piece, and returned his attention to the mammals across the room. M'bogo snorted and scowled, drawing the attention of Sherani Fangmeyer-Clawhauser, the tigress. She looked at the board, shook her head, and said, "Sir, you clearly aren't paying attention to the game, and I've had enough for today. Can we head back to the ship?"

Nick didn't move. Sherani said, "Sir? Can we leave? You made contact, right?"

"Huh? Yeah, made contact half an hour ago. Check out the oryx." He nodded towards the bar.

The trio in the back watched a large antelope with a scar across his face stand on a chair. He tapped a glass with a knife.

"Quiet! Quiet, everyone!" the scarred oryx shouted. "This is a great day, a glorious day, a day of... glory for everyone in the Union of Allied Planets. Six years ago, today, the Alliance defeated the Independents, and put an end to their 'Browncoat Rebellion'! Today is Unification Day! Everyone, a toast to the Alliance!"

Sherani leaned down towards Nick and hissed, "Sir, my stitches don't come out for another week, and I'm in no shape for a bar fight. Did you really drag me to an Alliance-friendly bar on U-Day?"

Nick shook his head and whispered back, "No. I swear I didn't. And U-Day isn't 'til next month, Fangmeyer. You weren't out of it that long. Something's not-"

A hoof slapped the fox's back. Another large antelope, an eland, stood behind him. Half a dozen mammals had gathered around them, and more were making their way toward their corner.

"You didn't drink to the Alliance."

Nick smiled up at the eland and shrugged. "My glass was empty."

"Your coat is brown."

"Is it? Did you know that a lot of foxes are colorblind?"

A dozen mammals had gathered. The eland continued, "You look like Independent scum."

"You look like decent fellows. The war ended years ago. We don't want any trouble."

The oryx with the scar stepped forward and spoke. "That's funny, coming from the Devil Fox. Ain't that right, Sergeant Wilde?"

M'bogo's eyes narrowed as he stared at the fox. Nick held up his paws and said, "Whoa, guys, you must have me confused with someone else."

"And this must be Corporal Fangmeyer," the oryx said, looking at the tigress.

M'bogo stood, throwing the table to the side, scattering game pieces across the floor. He snorted and bellowed, "The Devil Fox?! You're the Devil Fox?!" He crouched down and slowly circled Nick and Sherani, snorting and shouting. "All this time... You let me think that you... that both of you..."

The enormous cape buffalo suddenly charged, roaring as he did. Several mammals in the crowd cheered as he planted his right hoof in the middle of the fox's chest, grabbing him by his long brown coat. With his left arm, he quickly but gently lifted the tigress. The fox screamed as the cape buffalo waved him in the air. As they approached an open side door, M'bogo lowered Nick to his shoulder. The cheers faded as the trio disappeared through the door and down the alley.

* * *

In the hills outside town, a small Firefly-class transport rested in a secluded glade. Its airlock was open and its loading ramp was down. At the base of the loading ramp, an assortment of folding chairs and empty crates were arranged in a circle. A chubby cheetah wearing a tropical shirt sat opposite a beautiful gazelle wearing an elegant gown. A light gray bunny wearing grease-stained coveralls sat in a wheelchair, holding a rainbow-colored parasol over her head and twirling it. Two dark gray bunnies approached.

"Oh... Em... Goodness!" Benjamin, the cheetah exclaimed. "You two look like twins or something!"

Jack, the approaching buck bunny, wore leg braces and walked slowly and stiffly. He shrugged. "Well, the captain's right. My stripes are too recognizable. I mean, being recognizable was probably good for my medical career." He looked at the doe bunny walking alongside him. "But now that Brooke and I are fugitives from the Alliance..."

"Do not forget," Gazelle said, "I will need to reapply the dye every few weeks. And more often when you are shedding. Otherwise it will not look natural, which defeats the whole purpose."

"I won't forget," Jack said. "And thanks again."

"Judy, you haven't said anything!" Benjamin, the cheetah, exclaimed. He jumped up and turned her wheelchair to face Jack directly. "What do you think of the doctor's new look?"

"Well, I mean, I..." The light gray bunny smiled awkwardly. "I guess I kinda liked his stripes. But this looks good too. Right?"

Brooke sat on an empty crate, then patted the space next to her. "Johnny, come sit down."

Jack sat next to his sister, then asked, "So, where are the others?"

"Shepherd Woolrich is making the lemonade," Benjamin said, his words tripping over each other almost before Jack had asked the question.

Jack waited a moment, then asked, "And the captain? And Sherani? And M'bogo?"

"They're... you know... they... they, um," Benjamin stammered. "They went into town... just to get a drink..."

The doctor shook his head. "A drink? Really?"

"But not Sherani," the cheetah quickly clarified. "She knows that her pain meds and alcohol don't mix."

The doctor sighed and shook his head. The large ram with graying black wool appeared at the top of the loading ramp, carrying a tray with a pitcher and an assortment of different size glasses. Smiling, he asked, "Who wants lemonade?"

The lemonade was served, and the conversation shifted towards lighter topics: a prank that had been played on Jack during medical school, a similar prank that Benjamin had played on a flight instructor, and a similar prank that Shepherd Woolrich witnessed at the monastery. Through it all, Brooke remained silent and stared at her nearly full glass of lemonade. There was a lull in the others' conversation, and then she finally spoke.

"There's no lavender. Mother always had them put lavender in the lemonade."

"I'm sorry, Brooke," the shepherd said, exchanging a glance with Jack. "I wasn't able to find any lavender. But I'll keep looking, and next time-"

"I want to go home," she said.

"We can't go home," Jack said. "Remember? It isn't safe for us there. They'll send you back to the academy."

"No!" she shouted, clamping her eyes shut.

He hugged his sister. "We're safe here, remember?"

She nodded.

Suddenly, she pulled away and announced, "Time to go." She folded an empty chair and carried it up the loading ramp into the ship.

"Well, it was nice while it lasted," Jack said with a sad smile. "Thank you all for trying."

"Son," the shepherd said quietly, "how is your sister doing?"

"Actually, this has been one of her better days. I still don't know what they did to her at the academy. She won't talk about it. But she has dreams; nightmares really. And now that we're on the run, hiding from the Alliance-"

"Time to go!" Brooke shouted from the ship. The others looked at her, then looked at each other.

The captain's voice squawked from the cheetah's portable radio. "Comin' in hot, Big Guy! Get ready to shake a tail!"

"Oh... Em... Goodness! I guess it really is time to go!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Thanks to Steefwaterbutter for beta-reading this story (as well as my original "Zootopia That Was" story). I appreciate all you've done to improve the quality of my writing.

All the chapters of this story have been written, beta-read, and revised, so I'll be publishing them fairly quickly. I'm not sure what's next though. I might continue "Nebula Nine", or I might write another "Zootopia That Was" installment.


	2. It looks good

The infirmary was uncomfortably quiet. The cape buffalo sat on the bench just outside, the sound of his heavy breathing blending with the background hum of the ship's machinery. The doctor's instruments occasionally clicked, beeped, or buzzed as he examined the tigress slowly and carefully. On the other examination table, the fox captain held a bandage against his bleeding leg.

All eyes were on the doctor as he continued his examination.

Finally, he stepped back. His voice was quiet. "It looks good, Sherani. You're okay."

Nick breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Doc. Look, like I tried-"

"You, on the other hand, are clearly not okay," Jack snapped. He grabbed a trauma kit and hopped over to start treating Nick's leg. "What part of 'doctor's orders' don't you understand?"

"I... uh..."

"Or perhaps you thought 'restricted activity' should include bar fights."

"No, not at all. Listen-"

"Captain Wilde, do you have any idea what kind of risk-what could have happened to Sherani if you-"

"Not his fault." Sherani's voice was almost a roar as she stood, towering over the bunny and the fox. Then she continued, speaking gently. "Not this time. We sat by ourselves in the back. They ambushed us."

The doctor continued his work. Then he again broke the silence. "Captain Wilde, this was a relatively minor injury, but it will never heal if you keep tearing it open."

M'bogo said, "I'm sorry, Captain. I didn't know."

"Not your fault," Nick replied. "I hadn't told you. And that beautiful hustle of yours probably wouldn't have worked as well as it did if you hadn't waved me around like that."

"Yeah," Sherani laughed, "and you screaming like a terrified cub helped too."

Nick smirked. "Hey, I had to sell it. And for the record, I screamed like a terrified _kit_."

"There's urine on my shirt," M'bogo said.

"What?" Nick quickly looked down at his pants. "No, there isn't."

"Hold still!" Jack shouted.

The captain glared at the cape buffalo. "I did not wet myself."

M'bogo grinned. "But you weren't sure."

Nick snorted. "Anyway, we've got our next job, so-Ow! AI-YIP! What the-"

"Are you insane?" The bunny waved a roll of gauze at the fox. "Your next job? Do I need to put you all on bedrest to keep you from killing yourselves?"

"Look, Doc, it's not like that. We're still taking it easy. It'll take us several days to reach Ezra to meet with the client. Then we'll have a couple more weeks before we actually do the job. That'll be a month of laying low, just like you said."

"I said _at least_ a month."

"Mammals have to eat. And that means taking work. And there are a lot of nice safe jobs that I can't take with you and your sister on board, so-" Nick stopped himself. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It's not your fault. Look, we'll be as careful as we can, but we need work if we're gonna keep flying. That's just the way it is."

* * *

With a fresh bandage on his leg, Nick made his way to the bridge. He took a roundabout route through the cargo bay, up the stairs, and past the port shuttle bay. Gazelle stood by the shuttle bay entrance. Her voice was soft and gentle as she asked, "Captain, did I hear correctly? Are we going to Ezra? Will we be staying long enough for me to screen some respectable clients?"

"News travels fast." Nick grinned. "Yes, we're headed to Ezra. Or technically, a client's skyplex in orbit around Ezra. After we leave the skyplex, you should have time for... ambassing? ambassadoring? What's the word?"

"Why do you keep calling me an ambassador? You could say 'companion', like a civilized mammal."

"Yeah, but is 'companioning' a word?"

"You are hopeless."

"You know you love me." The gazelle rolled her eyes, and the fox continued, "Anyway, while we're at the skyplex, I'd really prefer for everyone to stay on board. The client has a very... unpleasant reputation. If he's got work for us, that's great, but he... I just don't think... I'm not sure you'd be safe."

Gazelle smiled at him. "Nicholas Wilde, do I detect concern for my well-being?"

Nick looked away, "Don't worry. I won't let it happen again. I'll let you know our timetable once we're away from the skyplex, so you can 'screen some respectable clients'."

"Thank you, Captain." Gazelle smiled to herself as the captain continued on his way towards the bridge.

* * *

The airlock opened, revealing four large polar bears dressed in expensive black suits. The one on the left stepped forward, gestured towards the corridor to the left, and started walking down the corridor. The others made similar gestures but stayed where they were.

Nick looked at Sherani and M'bogo, then shrugged. He followed the lead polar bear, walking quickly to keep up. Sherani followed her captain, then M'bogo shrugged and followed her. The remaining three polar bears brought up the rear.

The lead polar bear stopped in front of a doorway and pressed his paw on a scanner. The door opened. He entered, followed by the others. Silently, he pointed at a spot on the floor a few feet in front of a massive mahogany desk. Nick stood on the spot indicated, and the polar bear stepped to the side. Sherani and M'bogo stood behind their captain, and the remaining three polar bears stood behind them.

A door to the right of the desk opened. Another large polar bear entered, followed by an even larger polar bear. They stood side-by-side behind the desk. Finally, an enormous polar bear entered, ducking to avoid hitting his head on the doorway. He stood in front of the other two and leaned forward. As his paws rested on the surface of the desk, he stared at the guests, his face hard and expressionless. His eyes moved slowly from the fox to the tigress to the cape buffalo and back to the fox. Finally, he stood upright, his head nearly touching the ceiling.

Nick stared up at the enormous polar bear and cleared his throat. "Mr. Big, sir, I am-"

At that moment, the fox noticed a tiny chair on the desk, where the polar bear's paws had rested. The back of the chair faced him. Then the tiny chair slowly rotated, revealing an arctic shrew.

The guests stared at the tiny mammal, who spoke slowly. "Captain Wilde, _I_ am Mr. Big. Welcome to my home."

After a moment, the fox captain spoke. "Yes, Mr. Big, sir, so sorry for the misunderstanding, sir. I... I am Captain Wilde. This is First Officer Fangmeyer, and Security Officer Bogo. I understand that you might have a job for us."

"Yes, Captain Wilde, I might have a job for you. I need someone to pick up a certain package for me, a package that will be on a certain train. The train will be on Regina, traveling from Hancock to Paradiso. Someone will need to retrieve the package before the train reaches Paradiso. Does this sound like a job you can do for me?"

"A train job? Can we handle a train job? Yes, yes we can."

"Do you wish to know the nature of this package, Captain Wilde?"

"Is there any reason I need to know the nature of this package?"

The arctic shrew smiled. "You have a certain reputation, Captain Wilde. Mammals say that you get the job done. But you know what a reputation is? It is just mammals talking. I do not care about mammals talking. I need to know that I can trust you, Captain Wilde."

"Yes, sir. You can trust me, Mr. Big, sir."

"I think you have heard of my reputation, what mammals say about me. But that is just mammals talking. You need to know who I am."

Two of the polar bears that had been standing behind the crewmembers then stepped forward. They bent down and rolled up the carpet that lay on the floor between Nick and the massive mahogany desk, revealing an airlock door set into the floor. Through the large portal in the middle of the airlock door, Nick could see the body of a red fox. The lifeless fox wore a light green tropical shirt and a loosely knotted tie with red stripes.

"Captain Wilde, you may be asking yourself, what did this fox do to deserve this? I'll tell you. He disrespected me. I trusted him. I welcomed him into my home. We broke bread together. I offered him a job. He accepted the job. But he did not get the job done. I ask you, Captain Wilde, was that any way for him to repay my generosity?"

"No... No, sir, Mr. Big, sir," Nick stammered. "I'm sure that he was very... disrespectable... unrespectful... disrespectful. And if I may say so, sir-"

"You may not. Kevin here will provide you with the details of the shipment, the details of the package and the train it will be on. I look forward to seeing you again, after you have retrieved the package for me. Goodbye, Captain Wilde."

* * *

"Goodbye, Kevin. Goodbye... ah... Kevin's associates." The fox captain offered the quartet of polar bears a practiced smile as the airlock closed.

Then the airlock slammed shut, and the cape buffalo snorted. "Disrespectable?"

"No, no," the tigress said, her face serious. "Unrespectful."

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Did you see the fox in the airlock? Did you see the airlock in the floor? Who does that? How crazy do you have to be to install an airlock in your floor? In your office floor!?"

Sherani said, "Sir, I noticed that you still took the job."

Nick nodded. "Yeah, well, he may be crazy, but he pays well. Really well. And we need the job. Anyway, let's get out of here."

He hit the button for the intercom. "Hey, Big Guy, we're back. Shake a tail. And find us a nice quiet spot down on Ezra. We've got about a week before we need to head to Regina."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Thanks again to Steefwaterbutter for beta-reading this story.

Mathew5641, you will see more _Zootopia_ characters (like the ones introduced in this chapter), but I won't be including _Firefly_ characters directly. Some characters (like Shepherd Woolrich and several minor characters) are basically animal versions of _Firefly_ characters though. And I'm sorry there wasn't as much of a bar fight as you wanted, but Nick and Sherani (Fangmeyer) were in no condition for such a fight after the events of the original "Zootopia That Was". Plus, one of the differences between Mal and Nick is that Nick really isn't the type to bait Alliance sympathizers the way Mal did in the original "The Train Job" episode.


	3. Carrots!

Two days before their planned departure date from Ezra, Nick woke late, threw on his clothes, and climbed up the ladder from his quarters. Ascending into the corridor between the bridge and the dining area, he heard a loud metallic thud from the aft section of the ship. He sprinted down the corridor, through the dining area, and down the corridor to the engine room.

"Carrots! Are you-"

In the engine room, the fox stared at the graying ram, who was looking up from an open panel. The ram smiled. "Good morning, Captain."

"What... What's all this?" Nick said.

"I believe that I am rewiring the grav thrust."

"Why?"

Shepherd Woolrich paused, and then shifted his gaze, looking past the captain.

"Why are you rewiring the grav thrust on my ship?"

"Because someone won't replace the worn-out compression coil."

At the sound of Judy's voice, Nick spun around to face her. She lay in her brightly colored hammock, her arms across her chest. "And Jack told me not to hop all over the place yet, even though I'm out of the wheelchair. Besides, it still hurts when I do."

"But the shepherd, why is-"

"I'm just doing what she tells me to do, Captain."

"And you're doing a great job, Shepherd. Way better than anyone else could," Judy said. "He's doing a great job, Nick. It's gonna be okay, and we'll be ready to fly again before dinner. And we'll squeeze a little more life out of that compression coil."

* * *

Several days later, _Serenity_ was in a standard orbit around Regina. The crew was gathered around the table in the dining area.

"Does everyone understand the plan?" Nick asked.

"Do we really have to do this tomorrow?" Clawhauser asked.

"That's when the shipment's going to be on the train, Big Guy. So yeah, it's gotta be tomorrow. Why?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I just, you know, I checked the weather for tomorrow. It looks like it's gonna be pretty rough."

"How rough? Can you still do this?"

"Yeah, I can still do this. It's just gonna be rough." The pudgy cheetah shrugged weakly. "And it's a good thing M'bogo's uninjured, or Doc might get mad at you again."

* * *

The train's baggage car was packed with a motley assortment of luggage, shipping containers, and machinery strapped to wooden shipping pallets. The tigress was barely able to squeeze through what little space remained. Toward the rear of the car, she and the red fox carefully examined one crate after another.

"Sir, did you notice the Purple Bellies on board?"

Nick smiled. "Kinda hard to miss 'em, doncha think?"

"Sir, do you think it's wise to steal valuable Alliance cargo from a train carrying a platoon of Alliance soldiers?"

"I haven't been thinking about that at all. I've been thinking about how much _fun_ it's gonna be to steal that valuable Alliance cargo from a train full of Alliance soldiers. And we're getting paid to do it. Win-win, right?"

"I'm beginning to think Ben is right, Sir. You're insane."

"Crazy like a fox."

Sherani rolled her eyes. "Sir, did the client say anything else about the crate? What it looked like? Anything?"

"You've seen everything he gave me. Just the information on the shipping label. And the fact that it is a crate, which narrows it down somewhat. Ready to try the next baggage car?"

"Ready, Sir."

They carefully opened the door and made their way into the second baggage car, which was nearly empty. Nick looked at the shipping label of the crate in front of him and said, "Got it."

While Nick confirmed one more time that the shipping label on the crate matched the information he had received from the polar bear, Sherani stood on another crate. She reached up and unfastened the latches securing a loading hatch in the roof. She released the final latch and pushed. The hatch didn't move.

She double-checked the latches and pushed again. It still didn't move. She tried one more time, and the hatch suddenly flew open.

The roar from the open hatch was almost deafening.

Sherani looked at her captain and shrugged. He shouted into his portable radio. Sherani couldn't hear his words, but she knew he was telling Judy to lower the winch, lowering the tether line, lowering M'bogo onto the roof of the baggage car.

A few minutes later, M'bogo landed on the roof, then dropped through the hatch into the baggage car. He pulled several feet of extra line into the car, and left it coiled on the floor.

Nick pointed at the crate he had identified. M'bogo nodded, then handed a cargo net to Sherani. Without speaking, the two worked together to secure the crate inside the cargo net. M'bogo attached a clip from his tether line to the cargo net, then climbed on top of the crate.

He held out the remaining two clips to Nick and Sherani and mouthed the word, "Ready?"

Nick climbed onto the crate, then turned to offer a paw to Sherani. She had just reached for his paw when the line went taught and jerked M'bogo and the crate into the air. Nick somersaulted forward and landed near the door they had entered. M'bogo slammed into the roof near the open hatch, then the crate slammed into him. Both he and the crate continued their trajectory and landed hard near the rear door the baggage car.

Nick blinked his eyes. The ringing in his ears faded, only to be replaced by a deafening roar. A face came into focus, a face like a tiger's face, only... upside down.

Sherani looked down at her captain, her eyes filled with concern. He blinked again, rolled over, and stood up, still a bit unsteady. He gripped the paw she offered, then looked up and mouthed the word, "Bogo?"

As if on cue, they heard an explosive grunt from the other end of the baggage car, even over the wind's roar. The enormous cape buffalo tumbled past the crate, then grunted again. He rose shakily, supporting himself on all fours. Slowly, he turned his head towards Nick and Sherani. His gaze was cold and primal.

With another grunt that rose above the roar of the wind, the cape buffalo charged. Running on all fours, he lowered his horns and lunged at the other mammals. Nick and Sherani stared in confusion, unmoving.

The cape buffalo hit the end of the line that tethered him to the crate, which abruptly interrupted his charge and threw him face down onto the floor.

As the cape buffalo rose again to all fours, Nick shouted into his portable radio. The cape buffalo charged. This time, Nick and Sherani rolled out of the way, but the line jerked the furious cape buffalo into the air. He disappeared through the open hatch, followed by the crate.

Nick and Sherani looked at the open hatch, then at each other, and then at the broken fragments of his portable radio.

* * *

"Go! Go! Go!" the captain's voice squawked through the radio. Judy hit a button and the winch began smoothly retracting the line.

"And whatever you do-" The captain's voice was overpowered by a loud grunt, and then the radio went silent.

Judy grabbed the radio. "Captain, I did not copy. Can you repeat that?"

The winch hummed as it continued to retract the line into the ship's belly hatch. The ship bounced unpredictably as Clawhauser fought the turbulence.

Judy spoke again. "Captain, I did not copy. Please repeat."

After a few moments, she heard Clawhauser's voice on the intercom. "Judy, let me know when everyone's back on board. I need to get above this storm."

She looked through the ship's belly hatch. At the end of the retracting line was the crate in its cargo net, and the cape buffalo, who was flailing wildly, supported only by the clip connected to his harness.

Judy spoke over the intercom. "Ben, I don't see the captain or Sherani. It's just M'bogo. And he looks hurt. Jack, we need you in the cargo bay. Doc, please come to the cargo bay."

She looked down again and watched the crate and flailing cape buffalo draw closer.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Thanks again to Steefwaterbutter for beta-reading this story, and thanks to those who have left comments/kudos.


	4. What is your name?

"What is your name?"

Judy waited a moment for the ringing in her ears to subside, then she looked up at Jack and said, "You know my name."

"I need to hear you say it," the doctor replied.

"Judith Laverne Hopps."

"Where are you?"

"In the cargo bay." She started to get up.

"Please stay on the floor for now. Can you tell me what happened?"

"M'bogo went nuts. I got too close. Is he okay?"

Jack moved to the side and gestured up at the cape buffalo, who was dangling just below the winch, snorting and thrashing his limbs violently. "I'm not sure. We used to get overdose cases on the night shift at the ER, but nothing this bad."

"Judy, are you okay?" the shepherd asked.

"I'm fine!" She stood, held her paws out, and shrugged. "See, I'm fine. Let's take care of M'bogo."

Shepherd Woolrich turned towards Jack. "Son, do you have anything that can sedate him?"

"Yes, but I can't get close enough with him thrashing around like that."

"Don't worry about that." The ram smiled reassuringly. "Just get the sedative ready."

As Jack left, the ram held out four stun guns towards Judy, "Are there any other non-lethal weapons on board?"

"The armory's supposed to be locked. How-"

"It was locked. I'll explain later. Right now, I need to know: are there any other non-lethal weapons on board?"

"But... um... no, those are the only ones, I think."

"Judy, do you know how to operate one of these?" the shepherd asked.

"Aim and pull the trigger, right?"

"Aim, wait until I say so, and then squeeze the trigger gently." He handed Judy the smallest stun gun, then looked up at the catwalk. "Gazelle, do you know how to operate one of these?"

She hesitated a moment before answering. "Yes, I do. Assuming that it works like a regular firearm."

He gestured for her to come down, and Gazelle descended the stairs to the cargo bay deck.

A minute later, Shepherd Woolrich, Judy, and Gazelle were ready when Jack returned with a loaded syringe. The shepherd said, "Son, you won't have long. These aren't really big enough for him, and after we stun him, Judy will still need to lower the winch, so you can reach him."

He raised the remaining two stun guns, one in each hoof. "Judy, Gazelle, aim for his chest, right between his armpits." They raised their stun guns as well.

"Okay, on the count of three, squeeze the trigger gently. One... two..."

* * *

The small town of Paradiso was abuzz with activity as the train stood in what passed for a station. Nick and Sherani made their way down the steps of a passenger car, pulling their jackets closed as the winds buffeted them. They walked away from the train slowly, taking in their surroundings without staring at any one thing for long.

They passed a gray wolf wearing a worn plaid shirt with a shiny gold badge pinned to it. If he had an official uniform, the sheriff hadn't bothered wearing it today.

As a scrawny goat carrying a clipboard ran up, the gray wolf shouted over the storm, "What's the story, Handy? Don't tell me they lost the meds again."

"No, the meds are safe, Sheriff," replied the goat. "The conductor says a roof hatch blew off one of the baggage cars, but everything has been accounted for. They're unloading the meds now. And once they replace the hatch, they'll be on their way again."

With that, the goat turned and ran into Sherani. Nick extended a paw as the apologetic goat scrambled to his feet, mumbling, "I'm so sorry. I should look where I'm going. And... Oh, you're new here, aren't you?"

"Is it that obvious?" Nick asked with a practiced smile.

"Well, yeah, not many mammals live here in Paradiso, so it's easy to spot new folk. Anyway, the mine's employment office is down the street behind you. Assuming you're looking for work, but-"

"Thank you. Handy, was it? Thank you, Handy. And I'm sure we'll see you around once we're settled in."

The pair of mammals walked slowly in the direction the goat had indicated. As they neared the employment office, the train pulled out of the station. Sherani broke the silence.

"This can't be good, Sir."

"Yeah, we lift an Alliance crate that's worth a pile of credits to Mr. Big, and the Feds won't even admit that anything's missing. Not good at all."

* * *

The bunny doctor backed away from the cape buffalo that was lying motionless on the cargo bay floor.

"I don't see anything out of the ordinary. If I hadn't seen his behavior earlier, I'd say he's in perfect health."

"Are you sure?" the ram shepherd asked. "Drugs can be introduced in any number of ways."

"There is no sign of ingestion or inhalation. I didn't find any injection sites. Something might have been absorbed through his skin, but I saw no sign of that either. I don't have the equipment to run a full tox panel, but I suppose-"

"Why'd we steal flowers?" Judy asked.

"What did you say, child?" the shepherd asked.

"Why'd we steal flowers? Look at the shipping papers, Shepherd. It says ' _mendicampum holicithius_ '. Those are flowers, blue flowers, a type of crocus. On my family's farm, we grow them around the fields to keep the bugs off the produce."

"What else were they used for?" the shepherd asked.

"Well, nothing really. They're a Class С botanical. As kits, we were always told to stay away from them on account... on account..." She blinked. Her violet eyes widened as her mouth fell open. "That's it! That's gotta be it! When my mom was a kit, Uncle Terry ate one and went completely nuts. He bit my mom, took a chunk out of her arm. She still has a big scar. That's gotta be what happened to M'bogo!"

"Actually, I think it's worse than that." Pointing at a small amount of dark blue liquid pooling near one corner of the crate, he said, "I think we should all stay away from this crate. Someone seems to have found a new application for your blue crocus."

Benjamin, who had been watching quietly, spoke up. "So now that we've taken care of M'bogo, can we go get Sherani and the captain? They could be in trouble, or in jail, or... We gotta get them back!"

"We can't just fly into town and pick them up," Judy said. "I mean, what if they've been arrested or something?"

The shepherd looked at Gazelle. "Actually, that's not necessarily true. Someone respectable enough, like a registered companion, could walk in and take them, even if they were in jail."

"It would not be that simple," Gazelle said. "Even if I had the appropriate paperwork showing they were indentured to me, I might still need to post their bail."

"I could help with the paperwork," the shepherd said. "But you're right. Posting bail might be a problem."

"So what are we gonna do?" the chubby cheetah demanded. "We can't just abandon them! We gotta get them out of jail!"

"Son, I understand your concern," the shepherd said, placing a hoof on the cheetah's shoulder. "But we don't even know that they are in jail. If Gazelle takes her shuttle into town looking for her 'indentured servants', then she can at least find out what the situation really is."

"And in the meantime," Jack said, "I can-"

"Honey, I'm home," Sherani's voice rang out. The others turned to see the fox and tigress standing inside the door at the far end of the cargo bay. Their fur was windblown, their jackets were still pulled tightly closed, and their shoulders sagged with fatigue.

"Sweetie!" Benjamin screamed, as he ran toward her.

The ram turned his eyes away from the embracing felines, then said to the fox, "I take it you weren't arrested, Captain?"

"No. No, we weren't. Long story. But how's Bogo?"

"He's sedated. Long story." The shepherd smiled weakly. "But here's the short version-"

* * *

Jack had listened quietly as the shepherd explained to the captain why they had sedated the cape buffalo, and how they had managed to do it. He continued to listen quietly as the captain explained what had happened on the train, and what they had heard in Paradiso.

"Wait," the doctor finally interjected. "I don't understand. You went to all this trouble to steal a crate of _mendicampum holicithius_ , or whatever the stuff in that crate really is, and the Alliance didn't notice that you had even stolen it?"

"Actually," the shepherd said, "I think it's worse than that."

The doctor closed his eyes. "They noticed but couldn't acknowledge that it had been stolen."

"Exactly." The shepherd nodded.

"Fangmeyer and I came to pretty much the same conclusion on our way back from Paradiso," the captain said. "But first things first, Doc, how to we cure Bogo?"

"I... I honestly don't know. I haven't had time to research _mendicampum holicithius_ , or to analyze the blue liquid seeping out of the crate. I can keep him sedated for a while longer, which will keep him from injuring himself or any of us, but... I just don't know."

"First things first, you are delivering merchandise as agreed."

Everyone turned toward the door at the far end of the cargo bay. Just inside the door stood four large polar bears dressed in expensive black suits.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Thanks again to Steefwaterbutter for beta-reading this story.

Mathew5641, what can I say? The _Firefly_ quote that originally started me thinking about this crossover was Mal's line in the episode "Safe": "Never goes smooth. How come it never goes smooth?"


	5. Kevin!

"Kevin!" The captain forced a smile. "And Kevin's associates! What are you doing on my ship?"

The polar bear stared at the fox for several seconds before responding. "You are missing rendezvous." His voice was deep, and somehow sounded almost hushed even though it resonated throughout the nearly empty cargo bay. "We are coming for delivery of package."

"No, what I mean is, how did you get on my ship?"

Kevin stared at the red fox and spoke slowly. "We are walking through door."

Nick spoke just as slowly. "I distinctly recall closing and locking the door."

"We are coming for delivery of package." Kevin walked towards the crate, followed by the other polar bears.

"No!" the doctor and the captain shouted simultaneously.

Kevin stared coldly at Nick, then spoke again. "Fox making agreement. Are you breaking agreement, fox?"

"No! Of course not!" Nick struggled to maintain a smile. "It's just-"

"The _mendicampum holicithius_ is leaking," the buck bunny blurted. He gestured to the sedated cape buffalo and continued. "We think M'bogo touched it, and it sent him into a violent rage. We were barely able to sedate him. And we are not prepared to sedate anyone else, any of you."

"What are you saying?" the polar bear demanded.

From overhead, the shepherd's voice rang out. "He's saying that if you touch the package, go off-the-rails crazy, and try to kill everyone, then the only way we can stop you is to shoot you." All eyes looked up at the starboard catwalk, where the graying ram was positioned with a rifle. He nodded towards the port catwalk, where the tigress was positioned with another rifle. Then he continued speaking. "But the bunny's a pretty good trauma surgeon, so you might make it even if we do have to shoot you."

" _Duraki_ ," the polar bear growled. He placed his massive paws behind his head, and his companions did likewise. "We are not touching... _noch' sinyaya_... blue poison, not wanting blue poison. How is package leaking?"

"I can't say for sure," Nick said. "It might have been leaking already, or we might have damaged it. Things kinda fell apart down there when Bogo went crazy and tried to kill us with his bare paws… his bare hooves… his bare horns and hooves..."

Kevin held up an open paw and closed his eyes. Finally, he spoke. "Your security chief, he is still needing antidote, yes?"

"You have an antidote?" the bunny doctor shouted.

"Why you think we needing package? Yes, we have antidote. Needing more antidote, so needing package."

"Wait!" the fox exclaimed. Any pretense of a smile was gone. His snarl revealed his fangs as he stared up at the massive polar bear. "You knew? You knew what this stuff does, and you didn't warn us?"

"You say you not wanting to know."

"No, I asked your boss if there was a reason I needed to know." The black tip of his tail curled up as he gestured at M'bogo and shouted, "I think this is a pretty big reason!"

Kevin looked at the other polar bears, and then shrugged his shoulders. He looked down at the much smaller fox that was glaring up at him. "Is not agreement before but is now agreement changing. Now you are knowing. Now you are getting antidote."

* * *

"Mmmm…" Everything felt strange. The cape buffalo opened his eyes and saw only white. Blinding, bright white.

"Welcome back, M'bogo," the bunny doctor said. "Don't try to move yet. You're still under the influence of multiple medications, not to mention any residual effects of the _mendicampum holicithius_ and its antidote. It will take a while before they all wear off completely."

"Cap'n?" the patient groaned. "Fangm'r?"

Nick jumped up and walked over. He rested an arm on M'bogo's shoulder and calmly said, "We're fine, Bogo. Don't worry about us."

"Job?"

"Job's done. Got paid. Mr. Big even seems happy with us, which is a small miracle given… Actually, I'll fill you in later. Right now, you just rest and get better."

The sounds of footsteps echoed in the corridor outside the infirmary. Judy hopped into the infirmary next. "I heard the good news!" she shouted. "It's good to have you back, M'bogo!"

The graying ram entered next. "Well, look who's awake. How are you feeling, Son?"

Gazelle followed, saying, "I am glad you are doing better, M'bogo."

"Oh, em, goodness! How... how... how..." Sherani stood behind Benjamin, supporting him as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Everyone! Out!" Jack shouted. "I'm afraid I must insist. I know you're all relieved to know that M'bogo is pulling through his _mendicampum holicithius_ poisoning, but my patient needs his rest. So everyone who isn't a patient or a doctor, out of the infirmary! Now!" He looked at Nick. "I'm afraid that includes you too, Captain."

A few minutes later, the assorted mammals had wished the cape buffalo well once again, and made their way out of the infirmary, leaving the bunny doctor alone with his patient.

"Thanks," M'bogo groaned.

"Just part of the job. But before I let you sleep, I'd appreciate it if you could answer a few questions."

M'bogo nodded, and Jack continued. "First, how much do you remember?" M'bogo took a breath, then opened his mouth. Then he closed his mouth again.

"I'm sorry," Jack said. "That isn't fair, to make you talk right now. Do you remember being in the baggage car with the Captain and Sherani?"

M'bogo nodded.

The doctor continued. "Do you remember attacking them?"

M'bogo closed his eyes. He opened his eyes, blinked away a tear, and nodded again.

"I'm so sorry," Jack said softly. "Do you remember being pulled back up to _Serenity_?"

M'bogo shook his head.

"Thank goodness for small mercies," Jack said. "I'm sorry. For what you're going through right now. I didn't have enough bovine-approved sedatives on hand, and… well, I had to use what I had, and you're suffering for it now. I'm sorry."

"Thank… you," M'bogo groaned. He gently rested a hoof on the doctor's shoulder.

After a long moment, the doctor said, "You're welcome. Well, you should sleep now. Get some rest."

* * *

Jack entered a small stateroom. "Brooke? Brooke, you weren't in the infirmary with the others. Are you okay?"

Inside her room, the dark gray doe was curled into a ball. "Two by two, nose of blue... Two by two, nose of blue… They didn't want you to rescue me."

Her brother sat on the bed next to her and gently stroked her ears. "No. No, they didn't."

"Two by two, nose of blue... Two by two, nose of blue…"

* * *

A timberwolf entered a small white-walled room, then brushed a non-existent hair from the shoulder of his immaculate uniform. He faced the room's two occupants and said, "My apologies for the delay, gentlemammals. What can I do for you?"

The seated mandrill removed two photos from his briefcase, set them on the table, and slid them towards the Alliance officer. The other mandrill, standing behind the first, spoke.

"We have a warrant for these two bunnies. They are siblings, brother and sister: Jonathan and Brooke Savage. You will provide any information you have that relates to them."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

That concludes this installment of the "Zootopia That Was" saga. I really don't know what I'll work on next. Maybe another adaptation of one of the original _Firefly_ episodes, maybe an original "Zootopia That Was" story, maybe another installment of "Nebula Nine", or maybe something else. If you have any suggestions, then I'd love to hear them.

Thanks to Steefwaterbutter for beta-reading this story (as well as my original "Zootopia That Was" story). I appreciate all you've done to improve the quality of my writing. And thanks to everyone who has left comments/kudos.


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